Published: Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at 9:27 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at 9:27 a.m.

At The Golden Chicken, the simple name hints at a truth. The menu at The Golden Chicken takes humble ingredients (especially chicken and corn) and elevates them to elite status with traditional Peruvian cooking methods.

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With Peruvian poster art and wall hangings, the place isn't fancy, but it is clean and welcoming. The owners and staff made us feel at home.

There aren't any wine or beer selections on the menu, but there are a couple of specialty non-alcoholic drinks, including the Chicha Morada (purple corn drink), which is spiced with cinnamon and cloves, and quite exquisite.

A Peruvian treat, cancha, was delivered in a small bowl with a spicy green sauce before we ordered. It was described to me as "inside-out popcorn" and has also been described as "Peruvian corn nuts." It's essentially a special type of corn that pops within the hull and leaves a fluffy white interior and crunchy exterior. The taste is similar to eating the unpopped kernels left in the bottom of a bowl of popcorn, but without the danger of breaking a tooth. Cancha at The Golden Chicken is very lightly salted, and with that spicy green sauce it's somewhat addictive.

If you are late to the Peruvian rotisserie chicken trend, it might surprise you that the methods and seasonings prompt comments like "this is the best chicken I've ever eaten in my life" from folks even less given to superlatives than I am. I've had my share of rotisserie chicken in the past and have to say the Peruvian version is very impressive. The slow-cooked bird at The Golden Chicken is excellent, moist and tender, with the right amount of salt and spice.

Ceviche is a Peruvian specialty; some say they invented it. There are three versions on the menu at The Golden Chicken, including the "kitchen sink," which involves both squid and octopus, but I opted for the "original." Ceviche is a cold marinated fish cocktail where the acid in the marinade "cooks" the fish chemically, so no heat is necessary for the fish to turn opaque and firm up. In this case, it was chunks of corvina (a mild white fish) in lime juice, with cilantro, red onions and some heat supplied by Peruvian rocoto chiles. I thought it was quite good, with firm texture, a nice balance of acid and heat and just a hint of a fish smell.

Wanting to try everything, I dove into the parrillada, a mixed grill of beef, chicken, veal and sausages. The thin, lean slice of sirloin steak was seasoned and grilled nicely, but a smidgen on the tough side. The similarly thin-grilled chicken breast slice was grilled quickly, so it was amazingly tender and flavorful. The marinade infused just enough spice to make everything interesting.

Anticuchos are a traditional Peruvian item, dating back centuries. I was intrigued when I saw the description: marinated and grilled veal hearts. Being a Peruvian specialty, I had to try it out. When in Lima ….

The anticucho skewer that came with my parrillada was delicious. The beef heart was tender and flavorful, marinated and grilled to perfection. Like white meat chicken, heart is very lean and easy to dry out, but that wasn't the case with either my grilled chicken or the anticucho kebab.

The side dishes are interesting without being too exotic. We enjoyed sticks of fried yucca that looked and tasted similar to big, wedge-cut fries. Fried sweet-and-tangy plantains (banana's cousin) are another staple. Slow-cooked canary beans and fresh, big-kernel Peruvian corn round out the imported fare, but you could always have French fries or rice if you aren't so daring. I recommend being daring.

Several desserts are familiar, yet very South American, including the picarones (hot doughnuts) and alfajor (biscuit wafers with filling, like a big sandwich cookie). I recommend being daring here, too, simply for the sake of expanding your horizons.

Stuck in the back in a shopping center with other ethnic food restaurants, it is unlikely you'll find The Golden Chicken without hunting for it, but give it a try.

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